The Will Smith Delusion

Once upon a time in Hollywood I had a psychological-horror-thriller script floating around Los Angeles. This script was well developed and had grabbed the attention of quite a few, including one production studio (whom I won't name for legal reasons, although this tale is true) who contacted me to ask if I'd write a script for them, based on their having read Deadly Focus. Of course, I was flattered.

The first project was a fantasy tale called Salem - a Twilight with witches. Normally not part of my usual writing fare, but instead a challenge, my first instinct was to say 'No,' but I didn't. Instead, I said, 'Sure.' What I thought would be hard to write, turned out to be one of the easiest scripts I ever wrote. I did have help from a treatment provided by the producer, but, I couldn't stick completely to it, as it wasn't a solid treatment, the flow of the story working throughout it. I find that as you write a story, it will take on a life of its own and demand to be taken in the direction it insists on going.

I was proud of Salem, but got very little feedback from the producer, and still don't know where it stands. What I liked most about it, was I left my comfort zone and wrote something I normally wouldn't have thought of writing. In that regard, I felt I'd accomplished something whether it ever got made or not.

Time passed. I hadn't heard from this producer, and I really didn't spend any time pestering him about the project. I figured if it ever moved ahead, I'd hear from him. Eventually I did.

He needed a thriller. He called me and said he was in a bind. He needed a script for a meeting with Will Smith's production company, Overbrook (I don't know if that's accurate, I was taking his word for it and never looked up the name of Will's production company).

The catch?

He needed it in seven days! Not a meeting next month or six weeks from now, no, he needed it in seven days. Actually, if you think about it, he'd need it in six days, as I'm sure he'd wanted some time to read through it before the meeting.

My first reaction? Sorry, no can do.
But then I thought about it. It was a challenge, wasn't it? I have an actor friend and he told me the first rule in acting was if you're in an audition with a casting director or producer and they ask you if you can ride a horse and you can't, the proper response is, "Yes, I can." If you're asked if you can ice skate, the answer is "Yes." If you're asked if you can perform open heart surgery, the answer is "Yes." Your job as an actor is to get the job and then rush out and learn how to ride a horse, ice skate and perform open heart surgery as fast as you can.

I took that advice to heart. So, I said, "Yes," I can write his script in seven days. After all, he was going to provide me with a complete story by way of a treatment. I'd have to fill in some of the blanks, but it should all be there. Then the treatment arrived.

Unlike the Salem treatment, this one was unworkable; it just didn't make sense. Over the years as a entertainment writer, reviewing films, and not just the good ones but the bad ones ('B,' 'C,' 'D,' and 'Z' films), I didn't realize it at the time, but I had learned a lot about story structure and pacing by watching movies where both were atrocious; it was kind of like osmosis. I knew right away, his idea was un-writable.

I could give up the idea, or I could fix the problem. I decided to fix it. As far as I know, the thriller was for a meeting with Overbrook in regards to a role for Will Smith. I don't believe he's starred in any thrillers, a genre that would be new to him. He needed an interesting character if he was going to be interested in filming the project, so I came up with his character, a journalist contemplating revenge, several decades later; in his childhood he witnessed his entire family being slaughter by four men, one of them who is now the leading crime boss in his city. This event has affected his entire life, and all of his relationships. I also knew I wanted a very strong female protagonist for him to play off of, and figured this would be a solid role for a young actress; she wouldn't be there just to be his love interest, but integral to the storyline. She also happened to be, in my mind, a serial killer.

I threw out what the producer sent me and wrote an original story; I wrote it in six days, some of which involved fighting a bout of bronchitis; I do remember some moments of delirium, but I got it done. I sent it off and was met with rejection. The producer didn't like it. By this time I was aware that when he hired a writer he wanted them to just translate his ideas and treatments, verbatim into scripts. The problem was, he was young and just learning the craft himself, and the ideas just didn't stand up. I believe in hiring professionals and trusting them. With Salem I captured the spirit of what he wanted, and if he looked close enough I actually stayed truer to the treatment, just shuffling stuff around, and adding to it to make it better.
With the thriller, The Merry Pranked, yes, I had to throw away the entire idea and start from scratch. I had to give him an original idea I came up with on my own. It was simply necessary. I didn't hear from him for quite some time.

But he did call again.

This time he had a historical drama he needed writing, entitled The Slave Girl. It was an interracial romance between a plantation owner's son and a slave girl. Luckily, I'm an avid reader of the Civil War time period, and was in the right one to write such a script. Of course, he told me the script was being written for Will Smith's Overbrook production company with the lead role of the slave girl to be played by his daughter.

I really didn't care. I wasn't writing anything at that particular time, and an historical drama seemed like a challenge. This time, the treatment, like the treatment for Salem, was pretty good, although it did have a few things in it that were historically inaccurate and just wouldn't have happened in that time period. I strove to stay as close to the treatment as possible, knowing the producer's predilections, but still had to create a whole new character and take some liberties to make it work. I wanted to be true to the time and write a film that if historians watched it, they'd say, "Not bad." I believe I accomplished that and the reaction from the producer led me to believe he thought it was brilliant (I don't get that often, so I'll take it when it comes my way, whether I deserve it or not).

While writing The Slave Girl, I finally decided to look up Will Smith's daughter on the Internet. A fine-looking young lady, but at the time I believe a 13-year-old fine looking young lady. Based on the treatment requirements and what I'd written, there was no way she'd be playing the lead role. It was an interracial love story, with not a lot, but definitely some sexual scenes. I realized I couldn't be writing this script for Will Smith's daughter. Nonetheless, the idea was alive in my head, and I was enjoying writing it, so I finished it, and actually completed a second and third draft before it appears it was put in turnaround by the producer.
As far as I know, nothing came of Salem; recently I've seen a director attached to The Slave Girl, and one unknown actor cast, so maybe it's being taken out of mothballs, dusted off, and being developed. I hope so; it's a great tale and I think it would make a great movie.

The Merry Pranked?

Well, I loved my delirium written thriller so much so, that I turned it into a novel, writing it right after I'd finished my first novel, Tripping on Tears. Writing it in novel form, I was able to add to the story and turn it into a novel I liked even better than the screenplay. So, I guess in a way, I have Will Smith to thank for my novel. As I reflect back on everything, I really don't believe I was ever writing anything for him, his daughter or his company, and had my doubts at the time. What I liked was the challenge of pulling off these scripts, even when I didn't think I could.

All of this also helped push me to writing novels. There's a beauty in not having to deal with producers, especially producers who think they're writers. And while I've made this change in my approach to writing, I'm sure somewhere in the future there'll be a call from this producer and once again Will Smith and Overbrook are going to need a script they don't even know they need...and maybe...if I'm crazy, I'll once again jump into my Will Smith Delusion.